Best Pokémon to level or evolve for gyms in Pokémon Go

Which Pokémon are worth evolving and powering up, and which ones should go back to the Professor?

As you catch Pokémon in Pokémon Go, you collect Stardust and Candy, which can be used to level up and evolve your pocket monsters.

But how should you best spend that hard-caught Stardust and Candy? What Pokémon are the best for evolving and leveling up for gym battles, and which ones should just go back to the professor? Here’s the deal.

But in all honesty, until you hit level 20, it’s not really worth it: In those first twenty levels, you’re far more likely to catch unevolved Pokémon in the wild with higher stats than a Pokémon you caught at level 2 and spent thousands of Stardust on. I spent a lot on the Kadabra in the above picture, only to catch another Abra later in the game that was only 20CP lower than the evolved version.

What kind of Pokémon should I level up and evolve?

This is somewhat subjective depending on your area and what Pokémon you enjoy playing, but Gamepress has compiled a list of the Pokémon with the highest damage and CP per type.

First and foremost, CP, HP, and Level arc will dictate just how powerful you can make your Pokémon. In general, unevolved Pokémon around 400-900 CP are ideal candidates for leveling or evolving — a 550CP Eevee (which you’ll be able to catch around level 20) will turn into a mighty powerful Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon for gym battles.

You’ll also want to look at how much Stardust and/or Candy it costs to level up or evolve your Pokémon — it’ll cost a lot less to raise the HP of a creature like Lapras than Tangela or Jolteon, for instance.

In addition, some Pokémon are simply rarer than others: If you’re trying to raise up the stats of your Vaporeon, keep in mind that you’ll also need Eevee candy to evolve a Jolteon or Flareon.

Lastly (for powering up only), you’ll want to look at your attacks and whether they’ll award STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus). If your Vaporeon has two water-based attacks, for instance, it’ll be more powerful than a Vaporeon with a Water and a Normal-type attack.

Note: This doesn’t apply to evolution — when you evolve a Pokémon, their attack types are randomized.

Should I level up first, or evolve first?

In my opinion, you should almost always evolve your high-CP base-evolution Pokémon, rather than spend dust leveling up a lower-level creature, then evolving it.

If you’re looking for creatures to attack or defend gyms, you’ll want to improve Pokémon once they’re evolved and give you a great HP and CP and a high level arc; otherwise, you’re just pouring lots of Stardust into a low-level creature that may never have a ton of hit points, even at its max level.

By waiting, you can also avoid leveling up a creature you think will be powerful because of its STAB attacks, but losing them on an evolution.

Okay, but what are the best Pokémon to evolve right now?

Right now, the Pokémon we’re seeing dominate in gyms are the following:

For more detailed numerical gaming, check out Gamepress’s gym defenders and attackers lists.

Other questions?

Have any other questions about evolving Pokémon or leveling them up? Let us know in the comments.

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go beginner’s guidePokémon Go tips, tricks, and cheatsPokémon Go parents guide: Keep your kids safe!How to change your Pokémon Go trainer avatarHow to track nearby PokémonWhere to find different types of PokémonHow to catch PokémonHow to evolve and level up PokémonHow to win gym battles and earn coinsHow to be lazy and play on the couchHow to fix crashes and server errorsPokemon Go help and discussion forum<!–*/<!–*/<!–*/*//*–>*//*–>*//*–>*/